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Dylan Harper
Dylan Michael Harper was a fictional character and one of the primary characters in the long-running DRtv/ONtv Harpers Falls franchise. He is played by Greg Rikaart, best known for his role of Kevin Fisher on Young and Restless, who has played him from the very beginning of the series in 2008. Born in Boston, Dylan is a true son of New England. He has lived in the Boston area (with a few breaks) most of his life. He grew up a member of the Harper family, one of the most powerful and storied families in all of Boston and New England. Dylan's parents, Michael and Shelby, helped instill in him a mix of pride and love. Of his grandparents, he had been closest to his paternal grandparents, given that he had grown up on the Harper Estate. Despite this, he still treasured the visits by his mother's parents, George Whitehead and Lynne Whitehead Corwin. His Grandma Violet was always there for him to listen, and for him to be her favorite soup sampler. (He also learned how to make soup from his grandmother, and his soups are the talk around Louisburg Square) He would also spend a lot of his time talking about everything with his wise grandfather, Richard. '' ''To Dylan, his grandpa was (and after being revealed to be alive, still is) his sounding board, anything he did, he wanted to make sure that it was worthy of a Harper to do. Years after his grandpa's supposed death, his cousin, Audra Harper had filled that capacity and he cherishes her advice as much as he had his grandfather's, although her advice often came from a more worldly approach, because of her upbringing in Europe. Above all else, family means the world to him. In a lot of ways, Dylan is a positive mix of BOTH the Harper and Whitehead blood lines. He's a strong and very prideful person, much like the Harper side of the family; and also very sensitive and free-spirited like his birth mother's bloodline, the Whiteheads. He is very close to his family, and is proud of being who he is. A very liberal young man, Dylan is also gay, which comes as no surprise in the Harper family, but there are those who are outside of the main family who don't like that idea. But those people are usually in the minority. It's mainly that because Dylan is a Harper, a name well known in Boston society, he is more scrutinized by others. Dylan's closest friend is Barry VanAnderman. The two had been close friends ever since they were in Pre-Kindergarten as children, and although they went to different boarding schools, they still retained their closeness. In perhaps one of life's most bitter ironies, Dylan had been accepted at Choate-Rosemary Hall School, where Barry went, but that was scuttled by Shelby, who wanted her son to stay close by, and eventually convinced Michael to have Dylan go to school at the family boarding school, Harper Academy. It wasn't the first time that Shelby had interfered in something relating to Dylan, and it wouldn't be the last. An avid student of law, Dylan attended the highly competitive Harvard Law School. His strengths were in corporate law, which serves him well as he is the lawyer for his family's company. He will sometimes quote some of his knowledge that he had gleaned from his contracts law professor, Professor Charles Kingsfield. (This is a bow to the movie and TV series, The Paper Chase, both of which was also set in Boston.) In turn, Kingsfield praised Dylan for his undeniable work ethic (which he gained from both sides of his family) and his uncanny attention to even the most minute of details. Dylan had worked at many jobs most of his life, including helping run the Harper Industries office in London, a job offer that had infuriated Shelby, causing her to lose contact with the family, and eventually led to her death. Despite his free-spirited nature, Dylan has had more than his share of pain, trial and torment. The most notable was the loss of his long time spouse, Alex Corwin, which was the worst trauma he had endured. However, his current relationship with Barry has been a real bone of contention of late, especially with the troublemaking antics of his twin cousins' classmate, Bethany Arthur. Bethany had a flunky of her's tap into his cousin, Jennifer Harper's phone to get his number, wherein she left some vicious texts, namely calling him a slut. While most of his family are in approval of his relationship with Barry, others, Bethany most notably, are not. He was one of those who had finally convinced Jennifer to accept him and Barry. Her twin sister, Violet Harper had accepted it outright, and tends to live and let live.. Alex's murder at the orders of the diabolical Libby solidifies their enmity towards one another, although Dylan has no issue with her older siblings Brad and Linda. Besides his relationships with his sisters, Hannah and Rosemary, he is close to his cousins, Sheila Harper Watkins; Anyssa Forson; and Audra He also shares a kinship with Sheila's husband, Allen Watkins and Anyssa's husband, Bryan. He is also close with his newfound cousins, Shawn; Mark Harper; Joanna Harper; her blood sister, Cara; and his youngest cousins, twins Jennifer and Violet Harper. Dylan also has a close bond with his aunt India Delaney Hillman, whom he enjoys because of her fun-loving nature. He is also close friends with Anyssa's friends Courtney Harrison and Susie Lucas. He is also close with his new stepmother, Wendy Harper and her son, Eric, now his adopted brother. While Eric has moved to Florida to attend school, his new cousin, Shane Owens, the son of his new aunt, Vivienne VanCortlandt has been one of his best friends. The biggest change in his life was the move from Brockton to Boston proper. This came about due to the family selling the Harper Mansion to the academy to be used for classroom buildings. When the family moved to Boston proper, he moved into the old Atkinson townhouse on Mount Vernon Street on the south side of Louisburg Square. Almost directly on the other side of the Square on the Pinckney Street side of the square, lives his father and stepmother. And his neighbors are Barry's parents, Paul and Marie VanAnderman. Living with him besides Barry, is Sheila, Allen, Audra and Shawn. At the Harper family Labor Day Picnic, Barry confessed that he and Dylan made better friends than lovers, which Dylan heartily agreed with. Barry, assisted by Jennifer, is currently talking with close family friend, Adam Mathison, who had suffered a triple blow of losing his mother, his adopted daughter and his spouse, Aaron Shinn, in a car accident, to come back to Boston, and is also promoting a match-up between his best friend and the recently widowered Adam. While both are taking it slow, both Dylan and Adam see a romance as possible. Not long after he returned to Boston, Adam moved into Dylan's townhouse. While Dylan is very free-spirited, some have mistaken him as an airhead, and think that he is the weak link in the family. To those who have done that, it was a fatal error. He is fiercely and devotedly protected by his family, most notably his father, stepmother, siblings, and cousins. His most devoted protectors are his cousins Sheila; Shawn; Audra and Anyssa; and Sheila's husband, Allen. His second cousin, Roger Lambert and his boyfriend, Matt Ackerman; as well as his niece in-law, Jacqueline Haller, are also very protective of him. '' ''Besides the protection of them, he has his devoted best friend, Barry; and his lover and now spouse, Adam. To anyone who thinks they can get at Dylan, they would have a lot of people to fight to even get to him! However, some people have also made the mistake of crossing Dylan. While he may not look like he can get angry, he does, and his anger is VERY volatile, especially when he is defending someone he cares about. '' ''Recently, Dylan's cousins, Sheila and Anyssa gave birth to their first children. Sheila, a lovely little girl named Catherine; and Anyssa gave birth to FOUR children, marking the first time that a multiple birth other than twins had occurred in the Harper family. Anyssa's children are named Sam; Courtney Sue; Ellie and Jolie. '' ''Dylan hopes that someday, after their collective grief has passed, that he and Adam will be able to adopt a child. It is a dream of their whole family, with Sheila and Anyssa looking for that to happen most of all, so their children can have a playmate. Both sisters think that should Adam and Dylan adopt a child, it will help them heal in wonderful ways, and also have Dylan see and experience the joys that a child can bring to a family. Also, Libby (now played by Suranne Jones) returned to town, and apologized to Dylan for her ordering of Alex's death, and to Sheila for her antics about her trying to steal Sheila Watkins Designs. She also assured Dylan that her war wasn't with him or the rest of his family, except for her sworn enemy, Erica. '' ''However, once more, Dylan had been the victim of cruel fate. While he and his cousin, Mark Harper were walking back to their respective homes, a former boyfriend of his, Kip Waltham, who had cheated on Dylan mercilessly, wanted to come back in Dylan's life. '' ''Dylan, rightly sensing that Kip had no morals and he was doing this with very brazen ulterior motives, turned him down and denounced him in the middle of Louisburg Square. Not taking rejection well, Kip took a gun and shot both Mark and Dylan. Mark was murdered in cold blood, while Dylan was merely grazed by the bullet. Kip had best watch out, Dylan is really angry now, and is out for blood! Adam, sensing that he could have almost lost Dylan, in a similar manner that he lost his former spouse, Aaron Shinn, decided that it was time for him and Dylan to be a couple for good. During a beautiful dinner for two, Adam popped the question to an awestruck Dylan. Dylan happily accepted and now he is slated to be Adam's husband. Being shot notwithstanding, Dylan is also preparing a wedding. '' ''Weeks later, his dream came true, as he and Adam married in a delightful ceremony at Trinity Church in Boston's Copley Square area. Not only was Dylan married and Adam taking on the last name of Harper, but his closest friend, Barry, also took on the Harper name, after the family took him when his dad moved to Washington to be with his wife, Barry's mother. '' ''Dylan's close circle of friends also includes, besides Barry and Adam, Libby Atchison of all people! After a brief platonic dating relationship before he met Adam a year later, Dylan and Libby bonded, and are now the best of friends. '' ''Both share a great love of all things UK (stemming from Dylan's long-time residency in London) and they have Jeremy Kyle marathons constantly. (Thanks to Dylan's connections in London, the man himself sends him DVDs of the shows every week without fail.) Their get togethers (which are always on Friday evenings, and mainly consist of Dylan, Libby, Adam, Barry, Sheila, Allen, Audra, Shawn and their close circle of friends) are the talk of Louisburg Square and only enhace Dylan's abilities as a host. '' ''Dylan also shares a bond with wealthy divorcee Philomena Balducci whom he (and the rest of the family as well) calls "Aunt Philo". She cooks a huge italian dinner for the denizens of Dylan's townhouse and that has also become the talk of the Square as well. Her grandson, Sean Balducci has also become a member of his set, and the group has become a solid set. ''Happily, Dylan is excited to discover that his grandfather, Richard, is alive again. However Richard hates Dylan and kills him and Dylan dies . '' Category:Characters Category:Harper family